We hope you had enough time to dig out of the snow and enjoy family over the break! Please come prepared with winter gear for elementary recess due to snow on the ground until further notice to keep our students warm and our school clean! See you tomorrow!
Dr. K. here…
We will NOT have school tomorrow, Thursday, to afford everyone the illustrious opportunity to dig themselves out and I’m hopeful this early notification should afford all ample time to make childcare arrangements. We will need to make tomorrow’s day up and that will occur on May 19 with the teacher work day on May 20. Please take this extended time to help a neighbor or rancher out and keep those raising livestock in your thoughts.
Stay safe and stay warm!
Donuts with Grownups (by invitation) has been postponed from Thursday, April 14 to Thursday, April 21 due to the weather. Keep your invitations until 4/21 and we will see you then!
Dr. K. here…
All students and staff should be accounted for making it home safely. I know weather related decisions are not always the most palatable, but I attempt to make the best decision using multiple sources and people. Key word… attempt. Nonetheless, looking ahead to tomorrow we will NOT have school, Wednesday, due to snowmagedon 2022. As for Thursday, I will send out a notice letter to make this determination.
Stay safe and warm!
Dr. K. here...
After reviewing several weather applications, our plan is to have school today BUT we will dismiss at NOON. The wind is always expected here, and the snow isn't supposed to show until later this morning. We will likely have blizzard conditions early with snow accumulations later this afternoon. All elementary students will eat prior to dismissal using a modified recess/lunch schedule. Grab and go lunches will be given at the high school. All afternoon activities are canceled. I will make a determination on school tomorrow by tonight. As always, parents have the right to make the final decision should you choose to keep your children home. If you do, please call the school, and notify your bus driver if you have one.
Stay safe and buckle up because this could be a wild one later.
Dr. K. here…
I am writing to hopefully address questions I have been asked regarding Snowmagedon 2022, as I am told this will be a historic storm. I am HOPING we can go to school tomorrow until at least noon/all day. Should we then have to cancel Wednesday and Thursday, then this would be viewed as one make up day and one “grace” day given we meet our contact time requirements set forth in ND Century Code. However, we must also bear in mind we have contractual obligations we must fulfill. Should we miss more than one day, this time will have to be made up. The make-up day would be May 19th, May 20th if necessary, should we need to use more than 1 day. The school calendar does NOT designate this Friday or Monday as storm make-up days…meaning, there will be no school for sure on these days.
I will do my morning route as I always do and will decide before buses leave for their routes. If you do not hear from me, it will be business as usual unless things throughout the day get progressively worse than another decision may be made, and alerts set out. Nonetheless, as parents you have the final say if you do not wish to send you child to school due to the weather.
Thank you.
Attention Juniors and Seniors: The Jr/Sr Banquet will be held on Friday May 6 from 5:30-7. The banquet will be held at St. Paul Lutheran church. Hope to see you all there!!
Dr. K. here…
It appears snowmagedon 2022 is looming on the horizon. I will continue to monitor the situation as it draws near and do my normal early morning drive making cancellation decisions as early as possible.
We hosted the McLean County 5th and 6th Grade Math Meet today in Garrison! Our 5th grade team took first place, with Aiden Schmidt placing 3rd individually, Cole Franklin placing 2nd individually, and Austin Thelen placing first individually in 5th grade! Our 6th grade team took second place, with Molly Jochim placing 5th individually, Braelynn Smith placing 4th individually, and Harper Kolden placing 3rd individually! Way to go, students and coaches!
Update on the Elementary Jamboree on Saturday in Wilton
Our truck did not come as planned so our meal for hot lunch will be a variety of items we can pull together instead of taco in a bag tomorrow. We wanted to let you know as soon as we did so you can plan accordingly. Thank you for your understanding.
The North Dakota Association of Secondary School Principals announced the 2022 ND Academic All-State Teams. 196 high school seniors were nominated by their school principal and compete for the honor on a state-wide basis in both Class A and B divisions. Student selection is based on overall GPA, ACT or SAT scores, extracurricular activities, community involvement and leadership qualities. Congratulations to Pauline M who qualified has a Honorable Mention.
WOW! Mrs. Matte and Bob Callies Elementary Students raised $1,849.84 for the American Heart Association with our school's recent Kids Heart Challenge (KHC) event! You have made a life-saving difference for people in our own community and across the nation. Great work!
We had a great day today. Spent most of the day at Mount Vernon. Students were able to tour the grounds and then have a guided tour through the Mansion. Spent some time by the Capital, going on a “Capital Walk” led by Mr. Dangel. Students are now at a “Night on the Town” touring Georgetown!!
I had the opportunity to bring these 9 students along with Nicole K to Washington DC for Close-up. We have been running a lot taking everything in around DC. Tonight we stopped at the Washington Wizards game, we even had our school recognized on the scoreboard!!!
Just a reminder that tomorrow, Wednesday, March 30, is early dismissal for both schools for professional development. All students will dismiss at 1:30 PM.
Dr. K. here with a few updates….
The big one from a building standpoint is the board is moving forward on the creation of an activity center subject to a bond referendum. Regarding buildings, this summer the bus barn will be receiving new steel along with doors, the southern windows in the elementary will be replaced, new windows in the ag classroom and north end of the hallway at the high school, and caulking of the exterior of the high school.
In other news, Mr. Ermer is stepping down as AD. He's done a great job and we are grateful for all he's done. Mindy will be taking over these responsibilities for next year. I believe she too will do an excellent job!
Dr. K. here... please read this.
Universal Meals at No Charge are done at the conclusion of the 2021-22 school year per the federal government. We will need to collect Free and Reduced Applications from our families beginning fall 2022. Also, we will need to determine if we have to raise our rates for meal charges for our students and adults based on our reimbursements from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) as well as increased food expenses including shipping and labor. The current rates of inflation are being forecasted at 8%. We are gathering information regarding options for next year as to how we will be able to proceed. One option is to proceed as we did prior to COVID with families paying for breakfast and lunch at higher rates to cover expenses, and those who qualify for Free/Reduced lunch submit their application as before. Another option we have received states local districts may choose to continue to offer meals at no charge to all of their students, BUT the money to supplement the reimbursements from the NSLP must come from the school district's general fund as it is illegal for the school's lunch program to operate in the red, and still would require our families to submit Free and Reduced Applications. The higher percentage of free/reduced students we have, the more money we are reimbursed from the NSLP, requiring fewer local funds to be used. However, the reimbursement rates have not been defined for this option at this time. In the past, we have struggled obtaining Free and Reduced Applications from our families in a timely manner each fall, and we do not have 40% or more of our students who qualify for free meals, so our federal reimbursements are not large in comparison to our expenses.
There will be more information to come as we continue to receive information regarding these matters. The challenge I have said all along is once you start "free" how does the government then take it back? Please know we will do the best we can with this situation, as this all started with our federal government and now we are left with the new challenge of determining the feasibility for our district.
Another Dreambox Math Whiz finished her grade level standards! Wow, these kids are working hard! Great job, Sofia A!
We have several students who have mastered their grade level standards in Dreambox Math! Congratulations to Lincoln K, Benson K, Riley S, Rylan K, and Cash S! Keep working hard!
